Ready for the cupcake explosion?  Each year in the months of January, May and October, the Taylor’s Bakery in Auburn, Alabama creates 20 distinct flavors of cupcakes. The bakery bakes about 50 dozens of cupcakes for the January explosion, but for the other two months, the scale is increased to 120 dozens.

The event in January is celebrated to welcome the students back in the town.  Jan Taylor, who is the founder of the bakery says that through this event, they want to show the people that their bakery is much more than just a bake shop.

She says, “It’s about a three day event in the kitchen. This morning, when we put them in the case it was like, ‘Whew, we can breathe!’” The thirteen year old event has been a part of the bakery’s calendar ever since it opened. Taylor says that even though she loves the classic cupcakes flavors, but she also likes to add innovative tastes to the menu.

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And the winner is… Adrienne!
Congratulations! Please email us at [email protected] and give us your full name and email address so namethatthing can contact you.  Thanks to all who entered and commented on her wonderful items.  This contest had our biggest response to date!  Be sure to enter our next giveaway coming one week from today. Thanks again to namethatthing for the great prize!

Did you ever think that you would see Cupcakes at a Taco Bell? Well if you live in certain parts of California you may be able to taste test them. Click HERE to read more about Taco Bell Cupcakes and other items that they are also testing!

They don’t look too yummy and if you read the article, they didn’t get the best review! If anyone has tried them let us know!

One million cupcakes you say … Little Debbie is giving away lots of cupcakes and other prizes. If you go to the Little Debbie website you can print out a coupon for free cupcakes! Yep I said it, FREE CUPCAKES!

You can also join the Little Debbie Facebook Page and become a fan and get all the updates about Little Debbie Cupcakes!

Little debbie is also giving away other prizes. One of the other prizes they are giving away is this lovely ….. CAR!

There are only 4 of these cars made.  It looks Yummy! I wonder if they have a cupcake scented car air freshener to go with it?

One of the other items they are giving away is a free Years Supply of Cupcakes! What more could one ask for?

I think I may have to for test drive some little debbie cupcakes today! :-)

The NY Cake Convention takes place January 2-5, 2010.  Next year, why tell us so early?  The premier contest in the NY Cake Convention this year is Cake VS Cupcake with a whopping grand prize of $2,500.  The official site states:

“THE FACE OFF”    CAKE VS. CUPCAKE

• Decorated Cupcakes: Entries can be with made with actual cup cakes or Sty ro foam cup cakes dec­o rated with any sugar medium. At least twelve (12) cup cakes must be included in the dis play. Cup cake struc tures are allowed. Exhibit to fit within a base area of 46cm (18”).
• Novelty Cake: A regular shaped cake decorated in a novel fash ion with any sugar medium. Dum­mies or internal supports can be used. Exhibit to fit within a base area of 46cm (18″).
• First, second, and third place win ners in each cat e gory are then determined.
• The first place winner in each category will then be judged to determine the winner of the Cake vs. Cup cake competition.

Even if you are not a professional baker, there are SEVEN classes of competition you can enter depending on your experience levels from Youth/Teen all the way to Masters.  With the competition a mere 3 months out, it is time to put on the brainstorming caps and represent the cupcake nation!

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NY Cake Convention

January 2-5, 2010

Hotel Pennsylvania
401 Seventh Avenue (33rd Street)
New York, NY

Official Website
Full Contest List
Rules and Regulations

And the winner is… Laura M.!
Congratulations! Please email us at [email protected] and give us your full name and address so we can have the bag mailed to you.  Thanks to all who entered and included some wonderful links to other cupcake crafts.   Be sure to enter our next giveaway coming later today!  Thanks again to CupcaxDesigns for the great prize.

Check out stayhomecupcake’s shop on Etsy.

As Britian celebrates its National Cupcake Week (Sept 14-Sept 19), various cupcake bakeries are vying for attention in the news.  Today, Sayers and Hampson’s, a UK chain of stores and Cafés, launched their version of the world’s smallest cupcake.  Measuring 1.5 cm wide and 3 cm high, it is truly a tiny morsel.  Sayers said the Guinness Book of Records entry for the World’s Smallest Cupcake has never been recorded, so it is hoping its mini baked good will be a worthy contender.

Hello dear readers,

We are looking to add new writers to the ATC team.  AllThingsCupcake.com has a long tradition of being a leader in bringing cupcake news, products, and ideas to the attention of cupcake lovers everywhere.   As a leading cupcake website with over 3,000 unique visitors a day, there will be no problem with having your voice heard.

If you have a point of view about anything cupcakes, write me an email at [email protected].  Let me know a little about yourself and what you would like to write about.

Harrison at ATC

CupKates Bakery joins mobile cupcake fray with a cupcake truck that serves the East Bay area.  CupKates announces that its cupcakes are baked fresh daily using only the highest quality ingredients, including Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, Guittard chocolate, and Clover sweet cream butter and milk.  I’ll be making a trip with my family to taste for myself!

According to their twitter page, it seems like CupKates is still figuring out their cupcake truck route.  Take the time to sound off to encourage them to stop by your home or office!

Joining a growing list of metropolitan cities served by the growing cupcake truck trend is Philadelphia.  Buttercream was started by Kate Carrara who turned a career in law into a career in sweets.  

For more information, go to buttercreamphiladelphia.com or follow her latest specials and locations at twitter.com/buttercreamphl.

So soon after the Sponge Bob cupcake broke the Guinness record last month, There are rumors of a new giant cupcake in the works. This new behemoth is planned to be a whopping 7,000 pounds and stand 7 feet tall.  This easily trumps the 150 lb Sponge Bob by a wide margin.

The Detroit news reports the following:

Rather than placing the cupcake into the oven, the oven will be placed upon the cupcake — by a crane.

The baking will take 24 hours.

Hylen wasn’t sure how many pounds of flour, eggs, milk and sugar will be used. The short answer: a lot. It will cost $10,000.

Maybe this record will remain standing for awhile.

Who knew cupcakes have even made its way into the national health care debate? Oh the power of the simple cupcake.

Seattle’s Cupcake Royale owner, Jody Hall, has weighed in with her thoughts on the effect of rising health care costs on her small business.

… Hall says something has to be done about the expense of providing health coverage. She says her premiums have increased 20 percent in each of the past few years, and a couple of years ago, they went up 40 percent.

“It’s unsustainable to manage that kind of expense hike, so we are forced to cut our quality of coverage to make it more affordable, and that doesn’t do much for society,” she says.” A lot of small businesses are doing that or cutting insurance altogether.”

Additionally, Jody took part in a White House discussion and gave her perspective about the challenges of health care costs for small businesses.

In a speech given in North Carolina, President Obama pronounced cupcakes to be good for your life.   :)  Watch the speech below, it happens within the first two minutes of the video.

Guinness World Records  certified a 150+lb cupcake made by JodiLee Knops, cakes.com pastry chef, as the world’s largest cupcake at an event at Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. The cupcake measured one foot by two feet and weighed in at 150.7lb. Filled with fudge and topped with SpongeBob yellow icing, the cake contained 1500 servings.

The giant cupcake was made as part of a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Nickelodeon character SpongeBob SquarePants held at Mall of America’s Nickelodeon Universe. The creators of the record breaking cupcake is DecoPac, which is promoted as “the world’s largest cake decoration supplier and marketer.”

If you are in the New York City area, Baked by Melissa is running a unique and fun cupcake photography contest.  Here are the rules:

Pick up some cupcakes, and grab your cameras because Baked by Melissa is holding a photography contest!

We’re looking for some creative takes on cupcake photography (with Baked by Melissa cupcakes, of course!)

Place our cupcakes in obscure locations. Photograph an interesting subject taking a bite. Or just use your imagination because anything goes!

Photos may be used in one of our new stores, in our marketing material,at one of our upcoming events, on our website, etc.

Winners will be selected, on Aug 15, 2009, and announced on Aug 30, 2009.

The prizes are well worth your time as well:

First Prize – $500 and 100 free cupcakes

Second Prize – $250 and 100 free cupcakes

Third Prize – $150 and 100 free cupcakes

7 runner ups will each receive 100 free cupcakes

Official rules at BakedByMelissa.com.

Ladies and gentlemen, behold!  The mother of all cupcakes.  Measuring 1.25 m by 1.2 m (4.1 feet by 3.9 feet) and weighing in at 150kg (330 pounds).  This cupcake was painstakingly baked and assembled with 50 hours worth of labor by Michelle Wibowo from Michellcakes.co.uk.  Although this cake is a wonder to behold, I can’t imagine it being a wonder to taste!  50 hours of assembly can ruin the moistness and texture of any cupcake.  More details about the event and opinions about the cupcake at the guardian.co.uk.

Unfortunately, it seems like this giant cupcake may not meet the Guinness World Record qualifications which require that the entire cupcake be baked in one piece.  This quote from the Guardian confirms this:

Michelle said it took her five days to complete her masterpiece. “I used easily over 50kgs of sugar. I dread to think how many calories it has.” For want of an oven large enough, she whipped up batches and batches of smaller sponges and then layered and carved them into a cupcake shape. “The decorating is the fun part. The more icing the better.”

Following on the heels of this British story, an announcement by the Mall of America that they will be displaying a 100 lb cupcake with judges from Guinesss book of world records.   A mere 1/3 of its British counterpart in weight and size, this US cupcake seems poised to officially take the record.  It has already been announced that after the showing at the Mall of America, this 100 lb cupcake, all 131,000 calories, will be shipped to a local hog farm for consumption and digestion.

I have been informed from Sarah Voigt that this plus-sized cupcake will be presented on a tower that will hold 2,500 regular cupcakes.  Additionally, 4,000 FREE cupcakes will be given away during the 10th anniversary celebration of SpongeBob Squarepants.  If I were in the area, I would make some time to check out this fun spectacle.

Last March, Food Network’s Duff Goldman lives up to his Ace of Cakes title by baking the largest cupcake in history — which was entered in the Guinness Book of World Records.  The 61.4-pound creation is more than a foot tall and entirely edible. Reportedly 150 times the size of a regular cupcake, this record-breaker called for 16 pounds of butter, 10 pounds of sugar, and three ounces of food coloring.

Although it was widely reported that Duff broke the record, his record was disqualified in 2009 when it was revealed that his cupcake was baked in two parts!  Not only do I want to see the cupcake, I want to see the oven capable of handling a cupcake this size!

Recently, the londonist.com announced:

This Thursday, at the Covent Garden Real Food Market, the world’s largest ever cupcake will make a nervous debut on the East Piazza. Nervous, because it will be a short-lived appearance: thousands of people will soon be wolfing it down. The baked behemoth will measure 2 metres by 1.25 metres, and it’s expected that around 2,000 will enjoy a slice.

Now consider this.  Duff’s cupcake is 150 times larger than a normal cupcake.  This londonist cupcake will be 10 times larger than Duff’s cupcake!  No mention about whether it will officially take the Guiness Book of World Records crown though.

From the Chicagoist:

If you fancy yourself the equal of Susan’s, More or Sensational Bites, throw your hat in the ring and join the Iron Cupcake Challenge. Competitors bring their best cupcakes in for judgment and the winner takes home cupcake glory and prestige. This month’s theme is Tropical cupcakes, so bring your best coconut/banana/passionfruit/rum icing and your favorite pastry bag! Does your cupcake reign supreme?

The competition is being held at Veranda Greek American Taverna (5700 W. Irving Park Rd.) on Monday at 6 PM. If you want to get a sense of the competition, here are some pictures from the last Iron Cupcake Challenge; the theme was citrus. Whet your appetite for our upcoming review of More Cupcakes and join in!

The Iron Cupcake Chicago Challenge will be at 6 p.m. on Monday, July 6, at Veranda Greek American Taverna, 5700 W Irving Park Rd. Email [email protected] for more information or to register.

Looks like so much fun.  I can’t wait to see the photos of the winning cupcakes this year.  Here is the link to Flickr photos of the last Iron Cupcake event.  Some real beauties there.

Although as a country we are knee deep in a recession, cupcake shops are springing up left and right.  Some theories are that we all need affordable comforts during times like these.  Another is that with many skilled people laid off, they are free to pursue their dreams, and some happen to open their own cupcake shop.

Christiana Whitley of Hattiesburg, MS is opening her shop named Cirque du Sweet Day. Her dream of opening a store started back in 2007 while enrolled in Emerson College. 

Rhonda Waller left her executive job in 2008 to start Rhonda’s Cupcakery in the Bethesda, MD area.  Her shop has been doing so well that it has attracted competition from other cupcake stores to her area.  What a good problem to have.

Finally, our friend Dave LaLiberte in Boston is looking to open his cupcake shop in the Boston area in March 2010.  He has an official job opening looking for a Creative Cupcake Baker. If you are interested in getting in touch with Dave, please contact him at:  [email protected]

Follow your dreams not only at night, but also during the day!

You can have your cupcake and eat it, too! Add Delish to your list of sweet tooth hot spots in Austin. Located at 209 W. 3rd Street (around the corner from Cantino Laredo), Delish has it’s grand opening tomorrow! Stop in all day for free  cupcakes and from 6-8pm they’ll be serving free champagne and wine! Double treat!

Cupcake flavors include Mexican Vanilla, Chocolate, Lemon Zest, Black & White, Strawberry Z, Ginger Carrot, Red Velvet, Chocolate Mint, and more!

One of our readers contacted us in his quest to find open a cupcake specialty store in the Boston area.  He wants to partner up with a baker that can:

My ideal candidate would be somebody that can bake a killer cupcake and has some experience in the industry.  He/she also has to be innovative, imaginative, and fun.  I can tell by reading your blog that you guys love cupcakes and I thought that it would be worth shooting you an email in the event that you knew anybody that might be interested.

Sounds like an excellent opportunity to start on a dream job.  If interested, please contact Dave’s email at [email protected]

All Things Cupcake is bringing you A Giveaway Everyday in June! We will post one giveaway everyday starting June 1st – June 30th. If you are hosting a cupcake related giveaway on your site, blog, or at your store during the month of June…we want to know about it! If you are interested in hosting a giveaway here on ATC, please send us an email titled “Giveaway”.

Here is a list of giveaways that are scheduled to appear on ATC so far…

• June 1st – Cupcake Crown & Invitations Giveaway
• June 2nd – Too Sweet Cupcakes Summer Dress Giveaway
• June 3rd – The Cupcakery’s Sephora Sun Safety Kit Giveaway
• June 4th – Cupcake Play Food or Pin Cushion w/ Cupcake Pins Giveaway
• June 5th – Road Trip Rescue Giveaway
  
• June 6th – Cupcake Pigtail Set Giveaway
• June 7th – Cupcake Hair Bow/Clippie Holder Giveaway
• June 8th – Pop-Art Cupcake Cards Giveaway
• June 9th – Martha Stewart Cupcakes Cookbook & Martha Stewart Cookie Cookbook Giveaway AND Cupcakery inspiration; Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes giveaway
• June 10th- Cupcake Pinwheel Bow Giveaway
• June 11th – Cupcake Wipe Case, Matching Burp Towels, & Diaper Pouch Giveaway
• June 12th – Cupcake Clippies Giveaway
• June 13th – Sweet Treats Fancy Flops Giveaway
• June 14th – “Sweet Cuppie” Doll Giveaway
• June 15th – Custom Cupcake Hair Bow Holder OR Custom Cupcake Canvas Painting Giveaway
• June 16th – Gourmet Gift Company Giveaway
• June 17th –
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All Things Cupcake is bringing you A Giveaway Everyday in June! We will post one giveaway everyday starting June 1st – June 30th. If you are hosting a cupcake related giveaway on your site, blog, or at your store during the month of June…we want to know about it! If you are interested in hosting a giveaway here on ATC, please send us an email titled “Giveaway”.

With May in full swing and Mother’s day behind us Summer is coming and with that is a bounty of fun! So here at Sweet Cuppin Cakes we wanted in on all that fun.
Starting we have hooked  up with another clever crafting cupcakkie for Our Talented Cupcakkie Crafters  end of our store, where we feature several cupcakkies you already know like Cakespy, Bake and Destroy, The Glass Chef, Gigi Minor, Chic Baby Rose and  Sugar & Meringue. We will continue to feature these special artists  in our shoppe so you can easily access special treats.  Emily at Sugar & Meringue is one special lass to get to know through her blog and awesome creations. 

How fun are these for a baby shower or a baby party or just to be real retro and cute in a scrapbook project. Emily takes great care handcrafting these and the finished project is awesome! We will give you a package of 50 liners with your purchase from Sweet Cuppin Cakes.  Now for some more fun, if you have a design that you would like to see as a topper, send it on to me at [email protected] Subject ATC SCC Summer Contest #1 We will send out a notice when we have enough designs that will be enough to choose from. I look forward to hearing from you. The winner will receive a bounty of cupcake toppers and liners.
<3
Lyns

Please visit Sugadeaux Cupcakes and Sugar Momma’s Bakeshop for more information.